Off to a Rocky Start
(Three days passed by in the blink of an eye. We’re supposed to be meeting the current ward mayors today…!)
Ughhhh… I’m so nervous. I can’t believe I’m in charge of the Morning Team… I-I’m gonna throw up…
L-Let’s take it easy, okay, Yachiyo-kun? Kafka will be there to help you out, right?
R-Right, haha. Urgh… I have to look at my notes again!
W-We’re supposed to wait in front of the office to meet the ward mayors… Okay! When they show up, greet them… Huh, what?!
G-G-G-Greet them?! What do I say to them?! Like, “howdy-hey”?! “What’s shakin’, bacon”?!
I think a simple “good morning” would be fine…
(Phew… I’m a little nervous too. But I’ve already met all of the current ward mayors.)
Mutter mutter… My notes on the ward mayors…
The Ward 2 mayor is professional figure skater Kamina Yukikaze… Gyah! A famous person right off the bat?!
Ward mayors are basically walking advertisements for their city, so they’re usually people who are already well-known.
Ward 3 is Nishizono Renga… Eek! That egocentric model?! W-W-W-W-What do I do?! He can’t be caught dead near a pauper like me!
……
And the Ward 4 mayor is Lu Liguang… The second in power of the Lu family that rules over Chinatown… I-I-I-I-Isn’t he practically a criminal…?!
Well, maybe…? I think we should meet them first before judging…
Kamina Yukikaze alone is a superstar athlete and a living national treasure! Ahhh, what now… How are you so calm, Chief?!
Uh, let’s just take a deep breath, Yachiyo-kun…
*car pulling up*
Agh!! That’s…!!
……
Kamina Yukikaze…!! The national treasure, the pinnacle of beauty!! The Ice Prince himself…!! I-I-It’s really him…
……
H-H-He smiled…?!?!
I missed you… *hug*
AH?@R?HFS?Y@^U#?????!!?!?
(He’s losing it even though I’m the only one getting hugged right now…)
Yuki-nii, sorry. Can you let go? Yachiyo-kun looks a little freaked out…
Hm? Ah, good morning. Do you work here?
Uh— wh— h— Ka— Chie—…?!
(“What? How do you know Kamina Yukikaze, Chief?” How did I understand that…?)
He’s actually my cousin. Sorry, I should’ve told you that before…
Dwuhh?! You— cous— liv— Ka—?!
(“Dwuhh, you’re cousins with the living national treasure Kamina Yukikaze?!”)
I wanted to see you as soon as I came back to JPN. The wait felt so long.
Sorry about that, Yuki-nii. I had a ton of stuff to do once the company started up. How was the competition?
…Lonely, since you weren’t there to watch me.
Okay, break it up, you’re waaaay too close.
Woah, Kafka. Don’t just squeeze in like that, it’s dangerous.
Are you crazy? Who would hug someone immediately after seeing them? And you’re not allowed to hold his hand either. No touching.
It’s been a while, Kafka. I heard your surgery was a success. Congratulations. If you feel left out, I can give you a hug too.
Huh? I’m gonna smack you.
(Here they go again… Kafka always starts things with Yuki-nii…)
(I knew that this would happen as soon as I heard that Kafka would be helping the current ward mayors…)
*car pulling up*
Ah, there’s another car… It looks expensive. Is that one of the other two mayors?
*tires screeching*
(And another one pulled up right behind it…?! Y-You could kill someone driving like that…!)
Hell yeah! Kiss my ass, Liguang! I told you I’d get here first!!
*sigh* Idiot…
What’d you just call me?!
(Here we go again… These two can never give it a rest…)
Woah, it’s Nishizono Renga in the flesh… Even Lu Liguang looks like a supermodel… Wow, wow, wow…
Ward 3 mayor Nishizono Renga and Ward 4 mayor Lu Liguang, right? Nice to meet you… Well, I guess it’s not our first time meeting each other. Um, I’m the chief here at HAMA Tours.
…Ah, it’s you again… I remember you from the airport.
(No way, Liguang-san actually remembers me?)
…! You’re…
Ah, uh, hello.
Looks like everyone’s here. Let’s take this inside.
……
(Renga-kun keeps…staring at me… Did I do something wrong…?)
Hey…
Um, yes?
Well… Uh…
I put the rose up. That’s all I wanted to say.
(…!)
(I didn’t expect that. He actually took it home with him…)
That’s the gist of my plans for NEO HAMA-18. Any questions?
……
This is amazing, Kafka. Only someone with your brains could come up with this.
Huh? Why are you stating the obvious? Whatever. I’ll assume you have no problems with it.
…I don’t like it.
…!
I respect you as the Ward 0 mayor, but Ward 3’s gonna rebuild HAMA on its own!
Hah, there’s always someone like you who tries to hold everyone else back.
Huh?! Say that again to my face!
(Hmm, but isn’t Renga-kun the person behind the weird remodeling of the Landmark? I don’t know if we can trust him…)
I also can’t agree with this. The plan is logical, but having me work with a simpleton like him is anything but.
I have no issues with it. I’m just happy to be able to work alongside
Okay, nobody asked. And you’re not supposed to call people by their first names in the workplace. Titles only.
Ah, I see. In that case, I mean Chief.
*sigh* Well, I didn’t expect everyone to be on the same page. But I want you all to think long and hard about your place in the pyramid.
……
Huh?! What do you mean by that?!
The Ward 0 mayor has the ability to depose other mayors.
D-Depose? Like, posing for a photo…?
*sigh* Bèndàn…
Renga-kun, if you get deposed, that means you’re fired…
Fired…
Hah, I-I knew that!!
Wait…! Is that a threat?!
…I want you to calm down and really think about it. HAMA hasn’t hit its visitor quota for the past two years. If we don’t do something revolutionary, it’s over.
Renga and Liguang, both of you have been working hard on restoring your own wards for these two years, right? So you know better than anyone else that things have changed.
If we can’t make a breakthrough and end up losing our tourism region title, all of us will lose our posts as mayor. Don’t you think it would be best to try something new?
…Is that the thought process behind this plan of yours?
Let’s test the waters with just the Morning Team for now. If our first tour goes poorly, you can all abandon the project.
Give me a chance. Please.
(Kafka…! He’s bowing to them…)
Well, uh… Umm…
……
Fine. I’ll listen to you until we see some progress.
(…! Liguang-san… He’s more upstanding than he looks…!)
Well, fine… I guess if I have to… I’ll give you a chance…
Get off your high horse.
Huh?! Why do you care?!
(…And they’re fighting again.)
Wahwahwah… A-Are you sure these two will be okay working together…?
Friendship truly is beautiful.
(Huh? Are you sure that can apply to them?)
Ah, maybe I should’ve gotten that ready beforehand.